DIGITAL LITERACY

     Digital Literacy is a term that refers to a series of skills and knowledge about the use of available technology so people can interact among themselves, just that I would not limit it to the educational environment. It is more related to the use and knowledge of the technology and resources available,like softwares and hardwares, to let people interact among them and with computers in order to carry on with everyday activities. And not just that, to show the world what they do and how they do it. It is highly related to the social environment and the possibilities it offers to its members and that gave origin to the idea of the “global village”. It deals with the idea of adapting, growing and changing with society at the pace established by technology. No one wants to be left behind.

 (Image taken from:https://cdn.nmc.org/www/20160712095256/bigstock-Lesson-Learning-Literacy-Knowl-137973197.jpg)

      Now, how can we, as teachers and professors, face this?  If we want to cope with the challenges of this new era, then we have to develop a series of competencies.  UNESCO (2011) in its UNESCO ICT COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHERS establishes several of them Among which we can find:

• Use of common hardware.
• Use of word processors, presentation software and otherdigital resources.
• Use a graphics software packageto create a simple graphic display.
• Use a URL to access a website.
• Use a search engine.
• Use of email correspondence.
• Use of tutorialand drill and practice software and how it supports students’ acquisition of knowledge of school subjects.
• Use of educational software packages and web resources, evaluate them for their accuracy and alignment with curriculum standards, and match them to the needs of specific students.  

 

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     In this ever changing world in which we live in, it is necessary to adapt to the use and development of new technologies and its uses.  Teachers need to master the use of them because society depends on them more and more each day.  An example of this is the changed experienced with mobile telephony, that we began with a big telephone at home to keep us connected with other houses, businesses and institutions, and nowadays everybody seems to have one or two cell phones to communicate through calls, videos, texts and use of social networks.  As we cannot avoid them, we need to be familiar with technology in order to take advantage of them in learning processes, almost at any time and any where.

     For further information you can check:

https://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu/
http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/literacy/the-definition-of-digital-literacy/